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White-capped Parrot

 (Pionus seniloides)

Also known as: White-capped Pionus, White-headed Parrot, Speckle-faced Parrot

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild White-capped Parrot
© Nick Athanas | antpitta.com

Did You Know?

The eggs of Pionus parrots are proportionately larger for the size of the bird than those of other parrot species.

Academic Research

Related publications: Pionus seniloides

Species Profile

Genus: Pionus | Species: seniloides

Size:

30cm (11.7 in)

Weight:

229g (8 oz)

Subspecies including nominate:

one

Colour Adult:

Both adults in general green, lower underparts being paler; white forehead and forecrown, the feathers grey just before the tips and orange/red tipped on forehead; dark grey ear coverts marked with pink; white cheeks and lores, dark grey edging on the feathers; feathers on forecheeks sometimes edged with orange/red; throat has pink band, turning to red/purple on chest and further blending with brown on abdomen; red undertail coverts; green tail with red at base. Bill pale olive/yellow. Eye ring bare and pale grey. Eye brown.

Colour Juvenile:

Feathers on head green with white bases showing; feathers on crown edged with dull red; white sides of head, with margined green feathers; green throat and breast, the feathers with dull red/mauve in centre.

Call:

Calls are described as distinctive; in flight a smooth series of notes with a laughing tone, also harsher notes. While perched calls take on a nasal tone.

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More Information:

Avibase

Content Sources:

Birdlife International
Cornell Lab of Ornithology/Birds of the World
ML Media Collection Catalogue 68652, White-capped Parrot Pionus seniloides, Schwartz, Paul, Tachira, Venezuela, Apr. 24 1970, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Parrots: A Guide to Parrots of the World, Juniper and Parr, 1998.
Parrots of the World, Forshaw and Cooper, 1977.  2010 edition
Parrots of the World, Forshaw, 2006.
Parrots in Aviculture, Low, 1992.
Parrots: Their Care and Breeding, Low, 1986.

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild White-capped Parrot
© Nick Athanas | antpitta.com

Did You Know?

The eggs of Pionus parrots are proportionately larger for the size of the bird than those of other parrot species.

Academic Research

Related publications: Pionus seniloides

Species Care

Captive Status:

Rare in aviculture.

Longevity:

25+ yrs

Housing:

Aviary or suspended enclosure, minimum length 2m (6.5 ft).

Diet:

Fruits such as: apple, pear, bananas, oranges, cactus fruits, pomegranates, forming about 30 percent of the diet; vegetables such as: carrot, celery, green beans and peas in the pod; fresh corn; green leaves such as: Swiss chard, lettuce, sowthistle, dandelion, chickweed; spray millet; small seed mix such as: canary, millet, and smaller amounts of oats, buckwheat, safflower and a little hemp; soaked and sprouted sunflower seed; cooked beans and pulses and boiled maize and complete kibble.

Enrichment:

Bird-safe, unsprayed fir, pine, willow or flowering branches, wooden block toys, vegetable tanned leather toys, foraging/puzzle toys, swings, ladders, ropes. Also provide, for bathing, overhead misters or shallow water bowls.

Nest Box Size:

Vertical box 10" x 10" x 20" (25.4cm x 25.4cm x 50.8cm).

Clutch Size:

4

Incubation Time:

26-28 days

Fledging Age:

9-10 weeks

Hatch Weight:

11g (0.4 oz)

Peak Weight:

Not recorded.

Weaning Weight:

Not recorded.

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild White-capped Parrot
© Nick Athanas | antpitta.com

Did You Know?

The eggs of Pionus parrots are proportionately larger for the size of the bird than those of other parrot species.

Academic Research

Related publications: Pionus seniloides

Species Wild Status

World Population:

Unknown, decreasing.

IUCN Red List Status:

Least Concern

CITES Listing:

Not listed.

Threat Summary:

Not globally threatened. Generally uncommon and local. Probably less numerous than formerly conspecific P. tumultuosus, perhaps because the latter's drier forests tend to produce more fruit than the wet ones where P. seniloides is found. Forest loss is more extensive and especially a major threat to Venezuelan populations. Very little trade internationally.

Range:

Mountains of W Venezuela, from Tachira and Merida to Trujillo-Lara border, through W Colombia; in Cordilla Occidental reported only locally on eastern slope of Rio Cauca valley, SW Antioquia and south on both slopes of Andes in Ecuador to NW Peru, in Cajamarca and La Libertad.

Habitat:

Found from 1500-3200m (4920-10,496 ft) in montane forest and forest margins; also high cloud forest or stunted trees bordering paramos.

Wild Diet:

Feeds on seeds, fruits Turpinia paniculata, Clusiaceae, and sometimes maize.

Ecology and Behaviour:

Gregarious. Seen in flocks of up to 20 birds. More active in grey, cloudy weather conditions. Difficult to see while feeding or resting in upper canopy.

Clutch and Egg Size:

4 broadly elliptical eggs, 35.0 x 25.5mm (1.4 x 1 in).

Breeding Season:

Possibly November-December. Nest is presumably in a tree cavity.

Click photo to visit gallery

Wild White-capped Parrot
© Nick Athanas | antpitta.com

Did You Know?

The eggs of Pionus parrots are proportionately larger for the size of the bird than those of other parrot species.

Academic Research

Related publications: Pionus seniloides

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